Clothing Optional
by ImpracticalDemon
Summary: Written for Bonus Prompt - T-Shirt - for GrayLu Week 2016. A sweet and slightly fluffy one-shot about Gray and Lucy getting to know each other, especially with Gray's tendency to cast of his clothing at every opportunity... Set early in the Fairy Tail saga. [Gray x Lucy]


**Author's Note:**

 **My final contributions to GrayLu Week 2016  
Bonus Prompt: T-Shirt**

This story can also be read on my tumblr page under Impracticaldemon. :)  
 **CoverArt** courtesy of **whitefoxie** on tumblr!

I hope you enjoy the story. This is a **stand-alone chapter** from the others. A short "might have happened" woven into the anime.

All reviews, Faves and Follows very much appreciated. I have also posted this chapter separately, since it is complete.

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 **~ Clothing Optional ~**

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The first time they met, he stripped off a navy t-shirt and then he got into a fight with Natsu. Her first thought was that he was an exhibitionist and she was embarrassed - and a little confused about the fighting. However, she picked up the t-shirt and handed it back to Gray, which he seemed to appreciate. She couldn't really make out what he said, though. It might have been "You didn't need to bother" or it might have been "You shouldn't bother. Or maybe it was "Next time don't bother"? Hard to say since he was pulling a shirt down over his red face.

* * *

The next time they met, Erza had decided that the four of them - Erza, Natsu, Gray and Lucy - would form a team. Lucy had been very surprised, because she was new and hardly the strongest mage at Fairy Tail, whereas Natsu and Gray were already very strong and apparently getting stronger all the time. Erza, of course was... epic. Mind you, that didn't stop Gray from shedding his clothes. And fighting Natsu. But then Erza yelled at them and they pretended to be best friends - weren't they already? - and they left arm-in-arm, fake grins plastered all over their faces.

Lucy picked up the navy t-shirt and eventually returned it to Gray. He muttered something that could have been "Thank you" or maybe "You don't need to". Again, it was hard to tell.

* * *

They sat on the train together while Natsu drooled on Erza's lap. Mind you, Erza had knocked him out. She'd said it was better than having him throw up. That seemed reasonable to Lucy. Lucy was feeling less intimidated by Gray now, so when she realized that he'd lost his t-shirt again on the way to his seat on the train, she just got up and found it. This time she was pretty sure he said "Thank you" when she returned it. That seemed like a pretty good step in the right direction. She noticed that he he had a nice smile even though he didn't smile very often She wondered what had made him so serious in the first place.

* * *

It all got more complicated after Natsu and Happy decided that they were ready to take on an S-Class quest. Technically they weren't even allowed to look at the S-Class job board. However... They dragged Lucy into it against her will and better judgement. Unfortunately, her better judgment was impaired by the chance to acquire a rare golden key as a reward for completing the quest. Natsu could be devious when necessary.

They'd gotten most of the way to the island where they were supposed to lift the curse when Gray caught up to them. Lucy was surprised to discover that her heart beat a little fast when she saw him - with relief, with anxiety (because he was tracking them down to drag back to the guild), and with something else that she didn't want to identify. He was really good-looking, though; it was only fair to admit that much. Then he chewed them out for stealing an S-class quest and running off to get themselves killed. He eventually lost his cool and his clothes and he and Natsu fought.

Fortunately, a local boatman heard the name "Fairy Tail" and the word "guild", and said that he would take them to the island to help break the curse. Gray decided to come along to keep an eye on the truants. Lucy returned his t-shirt. It was black this time. She realized that the navy blue Fairy Tail mark emblazoned on the right side of his chest really drew the eye to his lean, muscular build. This time she was the one who reddened when she returned the clothing. Gray was used to it and just smiled a little in appreciation.

When they reached the island, they each had to show their Fairy Tail marks. That was easy for Lucy and Natsu, but Gray had to drag up his shirt. Looking around, Lucy saw that she wasn't the only girl noticing how good Gray looked with his shirt off - or up, as in this case.

Later on, while exploring some ancient ruins on the island, they discovered a demon trapped in a massive block of ice so solid that even Natsu's flames couldn't burn it. The demon's name was Deliora, and it had apparently killed Gray's family, destroyed his home, and eventually caused the death of his teacher Ur. Ur sacrificed herself by using Iced Shell to trap Deliora.

Distressed by memories and helplessness, Gray raged and eventually ended up without most of his clothes. Once he had calmed down, Lucy returned his t-shirt. Even under that anger and defeat and sadness, Lucy thought that she saw a flash of warmth, although there were no words and no embarrassment any more. She would have liked to hug him, just to find out what it was like to touch his skin - was it soft? Was it cooler than most people's skin?

Eventually, they just had to wait for night to come, in order to find out what was going on. Lucy summoned one of her spirits to play beautiful music. Natsu was bored, but impressed with the music. He eventually fell asleep. Gray was deep in thought - dark thoughts, from what Lucy could see. He was shirtless again, so she found the black t-shirt and the navy collared shirt and brought them over.

This time, when Gray reached for his clothes, she sat down beside him instead of handing them over right away. He was surprised, but too preoccupied with unpleasant memories to say anything. After a moment's thought, Lucy placed the shirts in Gray's lap.

"You don't really seem to want these," she said gently, with a smile that was half-Lucy and half-shy.

"Hnh. You know, you're right, I don't."

Gray leaned forward, just a little, and kissed her on the lips. It was very sweet, and Lucy felt her heart skip a beat. Then Gray pulled Lucy's head against his chest, and they sat like that for a long while, listening to the music.

His skin was soft and cool, just as she had thought, but she felt warmed.

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 **~ Fine ~**

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 **Author's Note** : I hope that you enjoyed this little GrayLu piece. For tumblr, all notes, comments, likes and reblogs are appreciated! :)

Or if you'd be willing to post a short review here that would be great!


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